X5: To the Temple of Death - IC

[Rhun]

"Stop the ones with the horns!" calls Aram, hoping that his magically inclined companions have a way of keeping the alarm from being raised. The dervish turns his attention to dealing with the masked men, his scimitars whirling through the air as he brings swift death to the enemy.



AC25, Hit Points 82/82

5' step to the east, attack the enemy to the south, and if that one falls start on the two enemies to the north.

Full Attack: +13/+8 Scimitar +1, holy (1d6+4 [+2d6 vrs evil], 18-20/x2) OR +11/+6 Scimitar +1, holy (1d6+4 [+2d6 vrs evil], 18-20/x2) AND +11/+6 Scimitar +1, holy (1d6+4 [+2d6 vrs evil], 18-20/x2)

If they are still flat-footed when Aram attacks, he also gets +3d6 sneak attack damage to each strike.

 

[Walking Dad]

Girgal, AC 23 (T15, FF20), HP 66/66, F +11,R+8,W+14
Ripclaw HP 57/57

This is not what I meant. Girgal sends to Aram with mindspeak.
He waits if the shadowmage has just the right spell ready, if not, he will charge the guard with the horn on Ripclaw.

[sblock=ooc]


----

Ripclaw: Hide+15, Move Silently+10

Will use the Summon feat for flavor in out-of-combat situation, alternating between different elements.

Spot +17, Listen +18

Spells:
0 (6) - cure minor wounds x2, light x2, detect magic x2
1 (4) – (jump), produce flame x2, vigor (lesser) x2 - faery fire,
2 (4) - (spiderclimb), barkskin x2, animalistic power, blinding spittle – snake swiftness, mass
3 (3) – (protection from energy), SNA 3, blindsight – greater magic fang
4 (2) – (freedom of movement), blast of sand, enhance wildshape – SNA 4
5 (2) - (SNA 5), baleful polymorph - animal growth


Ripclaw has:
HP 57 (-)
AC: (with barkskin) 30 (T15, FF25)
Full Attack: 2 Claws +7 melee (1d6+4 plus poison) and bite +2 melee (1d6+2) and tail + 2 melee (1d6+2 plus poison)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Leaping pounce, poison (DC 14 1d6 Dex/1d6 Dex), rake 1d6+3
Hide+15, Move Silently+10
[/sblock]

 

[Dragonwriter]

Jex slips his bonds, smirking as he steps back and begins an incantation. His shadow and he move separately, hypnotically, as he spreads his hands wide and looses a massive, black cone of freezing air on the right flank of foes.

As he does this, he stomps once and Eissun gets the message. The shadow elemental covers the left side with a curtain of shadows before rising up to attack the one on the end.

[sblock=OOC]
5-ft. step back, just in front of Father Fuller, then defensively cast Shadow Evocation for a Cone of Cold, aimed to catch as much as possible of the right side of the guys in front of us, definitely including the one with the horn.
Check: 32.
Shadow Evocation’s damage (Will save DC 20, Reflex DC 20): 26. If the Will save is successful, targets only take 5 damage, with Reflex for half. Will fails, 26 damage, Reflex half.

Eissun uses Dusk and Dawn, centering is 5 feet behind and to the right of the left-hand side horn-holder, then floats up to threaten.

Jex AC 18, HP 59/59
Fundamentals (usable 3 each): Caul of Shadow, Black Candle, Arrow of Dusk (x2)
Lvl 1 Apprentice Mysteries (2 per day each): Life Fades, Carpet of Shadow
Lvl 2 Apprentice Mysteries (2 per day each): Flesh Fails, Black Fire
Lvl 3 Apprentice Mysteries (2 per day each: Umbral Touch (used 1), Clinging Darkness
Lvl 4 Initiate Mysteries (1 per day each): Shadow Evocation (used), Warp Spell

Eissun AC 12, HP 75/75
[/sblock]

 

[kinem]

Aram's southern strike catches the guard off-guard, and he goes down as the first one had. Aram whirls and slashes the guard to the north; though this causes a bloody would, it's not enough to bring down that masked man.

ooc: Aram doesn't have Quick Draw so he has only one scimitar drawn.

ooc: Cone of Cold is a 5th level spell, so Shadow Evocation can't emulate it. What does Jex do instead?

 

[Dragonwriter]

[sblock=OOC]
Erm... Tome of Magic's mystery/shadowcaster one says I can use 5th or lower... I'm not worried about it. If you say no, switch it to Fireball. Same DC, just different area. Centered so it won't hit any of us, but catch as many bad guys as possible on the right side, especially the one with the horn.
[/sblock]

 

[Rhun]

Ooc: Aram doesn't have Quick Draw so he has only one scimitar drawn.

OOC: I keep forgetting that.

 

[kinem]

[sblock=ooc]DW, the mystery is not well written but it says "lower than 5th level" (ToM p. 148), not 5th level or lower.[/sblock]

Jex makes some strange gestures and a huge ball of flame erupts, engulfing the guards on the southern half of their formation. The flash is over as quickly as it appeared.

All but one of those masked men are overcome by the burns and drop; the remaining one seems but slightly hurt. The smell of burnt clothing and flesh taints the evening air.

Eissun covers the north side with a curtain of shadows before rising up near the guard on the north end.

At Girgal's urging, Ripclaw charges that guard to the north who holds a horn, and jumps on him, viciously tearing with teeth and claws. The red-robed horn bearer goes down under the dinosaur's assault.

With both of the horns out of the picture and the battle seemingly going well, Father Fuller decides to save his spells for later. "Kine!" The remaining guard to the south is flung backwards, several yards into the moat. He begins paddling back to dry land, but huge fish quickly converge on him, and he screams as they begin biting him.

Three of the remaining guards surround Aram and try to trip him with sweeps of their flails. One of the flails wraps around Aram's leg, but only a little, and he spins out of it, trying to get the guard off-balance. In the end, no one is tripped.

The other three guards surround Girgal and Ripclaw, and in the artificial gloom Eissun created, they concentrate their attacks on the halfling rider. Only one flail hits, but it catches a bit of Girgal's face. (ooc: crit, 15 damage)

It turns out that the temple's defenses are not as lax as the party had hoped, as three short horn blasts ring out from each of the front guard towers of the first building to the east of you, no doubt beginning to raise a general alarm.

The two yellow-robed figures (under the canopy in the middle of the building to the east) turn and cast spells:

[sblock=Aram]Aram feels some kind of magical attack but resists it.[/sblock]

In answer to Jex, a bead of light streaks from the finger of the yellow robed figure (just south of his fellow) and explodes behind the party into a flash ball of flame, catching Father Fuller and Jex in the blast, and not quite reaching the red-robed guards including the fallen ones. Fuller dodges in time to avoid the worst of it, but Jex does not and takes some burns. (ooc: 26 damage to Jex)

Both yellow-robed figures and the six white-robed ones with them then flee into the north side of the building.

ooc: PCs to act

[sblock=map]

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
X  X
X  X XXXX
X  .........
XXXX........
........~~~~~~
........~~~~~~
........~~~~~~
........~~~~~~
........~~~~~~
........~~~~~~       TT
XXXX....~~~~~~       TT
XXXX....~~~~~~        X
XXXX....~~~~~~        X
XXXX....~~~~~~        X
XXXX....~~~~~~        X
XXXX..E*~~~~~~        X
XXXX.Dh.~~~~~~
XXXX.g..~~~~~~~~~~~~.
.....DD..............X (north side bldg)
.......D.............,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
......DAD............,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
....FJ.d.............,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
......dd.............,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
......dd.............X (south side bldg)
XXXX..d.~~~~~~~~~~~~.
XXXX..h.~~~~~~
XXXX....~D~~~~       X
XXXX....~~~~~~       X
XXXX....~~~~~~       X
XXXX....~~~~~~       X
XXXX....~~~~~~       X
XXXX....~~~~~~      TT
........~~~~~~      TT
........~~~~~~
........~~~~~~
........~~~~~~
........~~~~~~
........~~~~~~
XXXX.........
X  ..........
X  X XXXX
X  X
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


A = Aram + downed red-robed man
g = Girgal + Ripclaw
F = Fuller      J = Jex    E = Eissun

d = downed red-robed man
D = red-robed guard
h = downed red-robed guard with horn

* = center of dusk (shadowy, 20' radius)

1 = yellow-robed figure
2 = other yellow-robed figure
w = white-robed figure

,,,, = covered area

TT
TT = guard tower

~~~~ = moat (not all is shown)

[/sblock]

 

[Rhun]

"Well, that didn't go as well as I'd hoped," quips Aram, spinning and dodging, and sending his scimitars slashing in at the remaining enemy guards.


AC25, Hit Points 82/82

Attack robed guards in west, north, east order.

Full Attack: +11/+6 Scimitar +1, holy (1d6+4 [+2d6 vrs evil], 18-20/x2) AND +11/+6 Scimitar +1, holy (1d6+4 [+2d6 vrs evil], 18-20/x2)

 

[Dragonwriter]

Jex grits his teeth as the flames wash over him. After it’s done and the pain passes, he frowns and steps away again. I really must stop that, runs through his mind, as his shadow-thoughts coalesce, ready to stop another spell like that, even while his conscious mind begins calling together the shadows from beneath the canopy.

With a nasty smile, the shadowcaster darkens the area beneath the canopy, between the buildings and brings the shadows up above, in a twisted mockery of fire. The black flames crackle and hiss, while Eissun gives Ripclaw and Girgal some wraith-like assistance. As the shadow elemental strikes, Jex calls out, “Perhaps we should retreat? Or does suicide sound good to you today?”

[sblock=OOC]
Jex takes a 5-ft. step back and above Fuller, then casts Black Fire, covering the vertical column on the map 5 spaces east of Aram. I should be able to do the 6 squares, top to bottom, with an extra two in the center, closer to the enemies. Anyone standing there on the start of my turn or passing through it takes 4d6 cold damage (Reflex DC 19 negates) and that will last for 8 rounds.

Eissun attacks the guard 1 north of Girgal (full attack).
Attacks (touch) and Damage: 19 attack for 13 damage and 26 attack for 12 damage. If the guard drops with the first attack, Eissun takes 5-ft. step south and smacks one of those guards, with his 10 ft. reach.

And Kinem, if Jex spots another spell being cast at/on us, Jex will use Warp Spell (ToM 153) as an immediate action. His Caster Level for the opposed check is 8, and if he wins, he will use the free mystery to cast another Black Fire, on the closer side of the first, top to bottom, with the extra two squares being one down from the top and one above the bottom, respectively.

Jex AC 18, HP 33/59
Fundamentals (usable 3 each): Caul of Shadow, Black Candle, Arrow of Dusk (x2)
Lvl 1 Apprentice Mysteries (2 per day each): Life Fades, Carpet of Shadow
Lvl 2 Apprentice Mysteries (2 per day each): Flesh Fails, Black Fire (used 1)
Lvl 3 Apprentice Mysteries (2 per day each: Umbral Touch (used 1), Clinging Darkness
Lvl 4 Initiate Mysteries (1 per day each): Shadow Evocation (used), Warp Spell

Eissun AC 12, HP 75/75

DW, the mystery is not well written but it says "lower than 5th level" (ToM p. 148), not 5th level or lower.

OK. I will keep that in mind for the future.
[/sblock]

 

[kinem]

Aram slashes the masked guard in front him with two strikes of his sole drawn scimitar, and the red-robed man falls unconcious to the ground.

As Jex's black flames sprout from the ground, Eissun achives a similar feat, striking the northmost guard near Girgal with his two shadowy arms, and bringing that man down.

ooc: Girgal to act. 4 red-robed guards remain standing, and there is one in the moat still swimming.

[sblock=map]

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
X  X
X  X XXXX
X  .........
XXXX........
........~~~~~~
........~~~~~~
........~~~~~~
........~~~~~~
........~~~~~~
........~~~~~~       TT
XXXX....~~~~~~       TT
XXXX....~~~~~~        X
XXXX....~~~~~~        X
XXXX....~~~~~~        X
XXXX....~~~~~~        X
XXXX..E*~~~~~~        X
XXXX.dh.~~~~~~
XXXX.g..~~~~~~~~~~~~.
.....DD.....#........X (north side bldg)
.......D....#........,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
......dAD...##.......,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
....FJ.d....##.......,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
......dd....#........,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
......dd....#........X (south side bldg)
XXXX..d.~~~~~~~~~~~~.
XXXX..h.~~~~~~
XXXX....~D~~~~       X
XXXX....~~~~~~       X
XXXX....~~~~~~       X
XXXX....~~~~~~       X
XXXX....~~~~~~       X
XXXX....~~~~~~      TT
........~~~~~~      TT
........~~~~~~
........~~~~~~
........~~~~~~
........~~~~~~
........~~~~~~
XXXX.........
X  ..........
X  X XXXX
X  X
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


A = Aram + downed red-robed man
g = Girgal + Ripclaw
F = Fuller      J = Jex    E = Eissun

d = downed red-robed man
D = red-robed guard
h = downed red-robed guard with horn

* = center of dusk (shadowy, 20' radius)

# = black fire

1 = yellow-robed figure
2 = other yellow-robed figure
w = white-robed figure

,,,, = covered area

TT
TT = guard tower

~~~~ = moat (not all is shown)

[/sblock]